Thirteen candidates have begun a 10-week campaign to raise the most money for Rocky Mountain chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and thus be named Man of the Year or Woman of the Year.

The titles will be awarded May 18, at the Grand Finale Gala held at the Marriott City Center.

Candidates for Man of the Year are Denver residents Robert Fischer, Robert Padgett and Woody Roseland, who is a six-time cancer survivor. Also, Mike Waesche of Breckenridge; Steven Harris of Castle Pines; and Michael Guglielmi of Highlands Ranch, who is a high school junior and this year’s youngest candidate.

Woody Roseland, back row left, Mike Waesche and Robert Fischer also are seeking the title, along with Ashley Hodgkin, front row left, and Montine Hansl.

Those vying for Woman of the Year are Denver residents Ashley Hodgkin, Casey Carmichael, Montine Hansl, Whitney Lindsey, and Michelle Draeger, a member of the LLS board of trustees. Also, Olivia Millradt of Aurora and Peach Pagano of Boulder, who is running in honor of her brother, Chuck Pagano, head coach of the Indianapolis Colts and a leukemia survivor.

Already, 7-year-old Addison Kleinhans of Broomfield and 5-year-old Bella Hicks of Colorado Springs have been named Boy of the Year and Girl of the Year.

“Last year our group of 14 local leaders raised an unprecedented $282,000,” states Rebecca Russell, the Rocky Mountain chapter’s executive director. “Our 2013 class of candidates is our strongest yet and they have an incredible opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the nearly one million Americans living with blood cancers.”

This year’s Grand Finale Gala is being chaired by Paula Arnold, owner of Newberry Brothers, her son, Kien Arnold, and her partner, Jeff Williams. They are doing it as a tribute to the memory of their longtime friend Linda Goto, who died in November after a long bout with leukemia and lung cancer.

Kien Arnold was crowned Man of the Year in 2010 after raising nearly $46,000.

The fundraisers also include Casey Carmichael, back row left, Peach Pagano and Michelle Draeger. Candidate Michael Guglielmi is seated in front of them.

In fact, Goto and former LLS board president Sue Ellen Goss had asked the three to chair the 2013 campaign prior to Goto’s passing. “We said yes because of our cherished friendship, and today we say yes because of our cherished memories of Linda,” Paula Arnold said.

The campaign’s Executive Leadership Committee is headed by Amy Epstein Schneider, who chaired the 2012 Grand Finale Gala with her mother, Jody Epstein, and brothers Zach and Jason Epstein in honor of their late husband and father, David Epstein.

The titles are awarded solely on the amount of money raised, with every dollar raised counting as one vote. The money goes to research that investigates the causes of blood cancers and seeks better therapies, and provides information and services to patients and their families.

Local winners will go on to compete nationally.

More information about the campaign and how to support the candidates’ efforts is available online or by calling Caitlin Selby, 720-440-8629.

We weren’t, I’m sorry to say, the best of friends. We didn’t fuss and feud, but for whatever reason Dawn Denzer and I couldn’t seem to share the genuine affection that exists between me and those who either preceded or succeeded her at the Rocky Mountain News: Bill Husted, Shery McDonald and Dahlia Weinstein.
Dawn and I were competitors. Our writing styles — and personalities — were as different as night and day, and each of us was fiercely determined to out-scoop the other. Read more…